June 30 Reuters The International Monetary Fund IMF has reached a stafflevel pact with Pakistan on a 3 billion standby arrangement, the lender said, a decision long awaited by the South Asian nation which is teetering on the brink of default.

The deal, subject to approval by the IMF board in July, comes after an eightmonth delay and offers some respite to Pakistan, which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves.

Following are some reactions to the deal

MURTAZA SYED, FORMER DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF THE STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN

The SBA standby arrangement provides Pakistan with much needed shortterm cover, in the lead up to and immediate aftermath of the upcoming elections. As long as Pakistan remains on track under the SBAs reviews, it should catalyze additional financing from bilateral and other multilateral sources.

In this way, we should be able to meet the external debt repayments coming due in the next few months. It is not the end of our relationship with the IMF though, as the SBA is a shortterm bridging operation. The new government will almost definitely need to negotiate another longterm EFF programme with the IMF after the elections, as our balance of payments and external debt repayment problems are of a more protracted nature.

GARETH LEATHER, SENIOR ASIA ECONOMIST AT CAPITAL ECONOMICS, LONDON

The agreement of a loan deal between Pakistan and the IMF should put the economy back on a more secure footing and limit the…